Passengers will face travel chaos on the first Monday to work after the new year as scores of trains are canceled and main roads closed after the worst series of winter storms in more than 20 years.

The Environment Agency has issued 73 flood warnings urging people to take immediate action, while a further 213 areas are on flood alert.

Coastal areas - particularly in the South - are most at risk as they cope with a combination of unusually high tides and another Atlantic storm today.

And railway operator First Great
Western has warned its customers travelling in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset,
Dorset and Hampshire to get on a train 'earlier rather than later' due
to the possibility of flooding along routes.

Scroll down for video

From above: An aerial view the Worcestershire and Gloucestershire countryside which is still under floodwater, as Britain braces itself for more floods

No running: Worcester Racecourse is still under water in the city centre as the country is swamped by flooding

Wide view: Another aerial view the Worcestershire and Gloucestershire countryside which is still under flood water

Surrounded by water: Tewkesbury Abbey in Gloucestershire remains dangerously close to the flood water

Treacherous conditions: This Volkswagen Golf car somehow got through the Strood road crossing in West Mersea, near Colchester, Essex

Good time to own a boat: Areas next to the River Thames in Henley-on-Thames, Berkshire, are flooded after the river burst its banks

Getting through: Cars pass each other on a flooded section of road in the village of Yalding in Kent

Debris: A large wave crashes over the promenade at high tide in Aberystwyth, Mid Wales

Making the most of it: Flooding in Worcester as the swans take over the streets near the river front after the River Severn bursts its banks once more

Feet up: Hove Promenade on the Sussex coast this morning, which has been badly hit by the storm

People walk over a mountain of pebbles left after storms, along the closed A487 between Haverfordwest and St David's in Pembrokeshire, at Newgale, West Wales

Submerged: The River Stour has burst its banks and flooded Christchurch in Dorset

Damage: A child looks at the flooding in Christchurch, Dorset, where swans were enjoying themselves

A map of flood alerts across the country. Red means a flood warning and yellow is for a less-serious flood alert

Trains between Falmouth and Truro docks
have been canceled as have trains in Wales from Llandudno, Shrewsbury,
Swansea and Machynlleth after strong winds severely damaged tracks.

Already lives have been lost, sea
fronts have been wrecked, thousands of acres of countryside have been
left underwater and cliffs have collapsed.

A
47-year-old man died yesterday after his mobility scooter fell into a
river when he was apparently driving it along a flooded pathway in
Oxford.

Thames Valley Police were called to Osney Lock at 6.30pm after receiving a report that the man had been seen to fall into the river. He died at the scene.

Families
were forced into emergency shelters and two villages were cut off by
floods yesterday - and there is no sign of the weather relenting.

David Cameron today pledged that
lessons will be learned and insisted that the EA has been given the
funding to protect frontline services.

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

Share

When
questioned about the EA’s ability to fund flood defences on the BBC's
Andrew Marr Show, the Prime Minister replied: ‘We're spending
£2.3billion in this four-year period on flood defences, which is more
than the previous four-year period.

‘We
have also enabled them to access other sources of money - partnership
funding - so I think we're going to see record levels of spending on
flood defences and we have guaranteed that right out into 2020 so they
can really plan for the future.

‘Local
authorities have had to make difficult decisions. The Environment
Agency does have to make sure it controls its budgets carefully but we
are making sure they invest in the frontline.’

A brief ray of sunshine brings a vibrant rainbow over the damaged seafront following days of high tides and storm in Aberystwyth, Wales

Much of the seafront has been severely damaged by the pounding of the waves, with the likely cost of repairs running into the millions of pounds

Residents near the Welsh coast were being urged to remain vigilant as strong winds hit the country

Ruff day: A rescue worker holds Elvis, a dog belonging to homeowner Anne-Marie Simpson, who was rescued after 13 days stranded in her flooded property in North Curry, Somerset

To safety: A woman and her pet dog are evacuated from their home near North Curry, Taunton, Somerset, after being stranded by flood water for 13 days

Family time: A man, woman and young girl sit together on a bench on the promenade at Brighton beach, which is seen covered with shingles

Going for a walk: A boy rides on a scooter and a dog runs to keep up as one of Brighton's iconic beach huts is seen damaged by the storm

Extreme sport: A surfer paddles out in rough seas at Porthcawl in Mid Glamorgon, Wales

Crash: High tide waves break along the seafront at Porthcawl in Mid Glamorgon, Wales

Unusual sight: The uncanny shape of a large white horse jumping over the Cobb Wall at Lyme Regis in Dorset

Underwater: Flooded playing fields surround Tewkesbury Abbey in Gloucestershire. Weather reports suggest further rainfall will arive in the next 24 hours

Floodwater: Geese feed as the rising level of the River Thames at Shepperton Lock in Surrey threatens local housing along the river

No-go area: Warning signs prevent traffic entering a flooded road in Tewkesbury. The already full waterways are being placed under further pressure

Walking the dog: A large wave crashes over the promenade at high tide in Aberystwyth, Mid Wales

Taking a risk: Members of the public watch as high tide waves break along the seafront at Porthcawl in Mid Glamorgon, Wales

South coast: Waves crash on the seafront at Western Esplanade in Hove, Sussex

Mr
Cameron went on: ‘Huge sympathy to anyone who has had their house
flooded. Anyone who has had a house or an office flooded knows it is
absolutely dreadful.

‘I
think the community response has been incredible. I saw for myself how
people come together and help and the emergency services have done an
absolutely great job.

‘There are always lessons to learn. I think we're doing a lot more things better.

‘I
think flood warnings are better, I think the flood defences have
protected tens of thousands of homes but there will always be lessons to
learn and I'll make sure they are learned.’

All over the country: There were almost 300 Environment Agency flood alerts or warnings still in place across England and Wales at 11am today

Astonishing start: A bright red sky at sunrise over countryside near Burton, south-west of Burnham-on-Sea, in Somerset today

Beautiful: Late afternoon sun from the viewpoint at Birdlip Hill towards Gloucester, with the Malvern Hills in the distant far right

Response: Prime Minister David Cameron discussed the floods while appearing on BBC One's current affairs programme, The Andrew Marr Show

Red sky in the morning: The dramatic sunrise over flooded Malmesbury in Wiltshire

People staying at the Little Venice Country Park in Kent use a boat to rescue their possessions

This driver struggled to make it through waterlogged roads in Kent

Severe weather has battered coastal towns like Aberystwyth in Wales

A spokesman warned that, if the rain persists for another two days, vast stretches of the Severn will be on the brink of flooding.

These horses had to be rescued from rising flood waters near Christchurch, Dorset

The sun sets over flood water beside the M5 motorway River near Upton upon Severn in Worcestershire

Farmland in Carmarthen, Wales, was covered when the River Towy burst its banks

A man sits and watches as a giant wave crashes over the promenade wall in Barmouth, Wales

A surge of water engulfs the promenade wall in Barmouth. Along parts of the front the force of the waves smashed through the sea wall

A man feels his way with a walking stick through the flood waters at Christchurch Quay after the river Stour burst its bankS

PM: LESSONS WILL BE LEARNED

David Cameron has pledged that lessons will be learned after flooding hit parts of the UK.

The Prime Minister also insisted that the Environment Agency has been given the funding to protect frontline services.

Mr Cameron told the BBC: 'We're spending £2.3billion in this four-year period on flood defences which is more than the previous four-year period.

'We have also enabled them to access other sources of money - partnership funding - so I think we're going to see record levels of spending on flood defences and we have guaranteed that right out into 2020 so they can really plan for the future.'

Environment
Secretary Owen Paterson said he will be chairing a meeting of the
Government's Cobra emergency committee this afternoon ‘to ensure
everything is being done on the ground to prepare for bad weather
ahead’.

Forecaster Matt
Dobson for MeteoGroup said the rain ‘simply has nowhere to go’ after
weeks of severe weather has saturated the ground and swelled rivers.

He
added: ‘It's very unusual to have so many powerful storms come in one
after the other in such a short space of time - we haven't seen anything
like this since about 1991.

‘The
nasty weather of the last few days is going to continue across the UK,
with the combination of high tides and a powerful storm putting coastal
areas particularly at risk.

‘Any
rain will mean more flooding as the ground is saturated and swollen
rivers are coming up against strong waves. The water simply has nowhere
to go.

The Met Office has
issued yellow weather warnings of ice and rain, predicting river and
surface flooding as well as travel disruption mainly in south Wales and
the south west and south east of England. Up to 40mm (1.6in) of rain
could fall in higher ground.

Inland
rainfall will put pressure on rivers, endangering nearby communities
including those along the River Medway in Kent, the River Thames in
Oxford and Osney and the River Severn Estuary in Gloucestershire.

Intrigued locals peer over the railings at the violent seas in Brighton

The force of the storm whips up a swell as huge waves break against the groynes on Brighton beach

A photographer stands at a safe distance to capture the force of nature whipping up the seas off the Brighton coast

A man watches the floodwaters rising in Shepton Mallet, left. And right, Craig Robertson wades through the torrents of water in the town

In Guernsey a car attempts to make it through water which has poured on to the sea road after 10 metre tides coincided with strong winds

Locals in Aberystwyth discover a new path to the sea after the storm tore a huge hole in the sea wall

The
strong winds, persistent rain and tidal waves are predicted to the
batter the UK for at least another two days, as emergency services
attempt to cope with the trail of devastation already created by the
severe weather.

More than
200 homes have been flooded from Cornwall to Scotland, with miles of
coastline battered and roads and fields across the country left under
water.

Meanwhile, searches
resumed in south Devon for missing 18-year-old university student Harry
Martin, who was last seen leaving his home to take photographs of the
weather - with more than 100 people volunteering to look for him.

Take cover! People are drenched by the crashing waves in Dover, Kent as the tidal surges continue

A child jumps to dodge the spray as waves crash against the pier in Worthing, near Shoreham-by-Sea

Fierce waves pound the seafront in Worthing as people watch, just out of harms way

The Plough Inn in Upton upon Severn is surrounded, after the River Severn burst its banks

A petrol station in Upton upon Severn is cut off by water as a sign alerts people to the flood

The Thames Barrier in east London was closed on Saturday afternoon to protect the capital from the rising waters

Drivers making their way along the A14 near Cambridge on Saturday were battling against some hazardous driving conditions

Two
people had already died in the storms. A 27-year-old man from Surrey
was found on Porthleven Sands beach in Cornwall after he was swept out
to sea on New Year's Eve night, and a woman died after being rescued
from the sea in Croyde Bay, north Devon.

Officials
around the country have pleaded with people to keep away as dozens put
their lives at risk by going to coastal areas to watch as the storm
brought waves of up to 40ft high crashing onto land.

A
man and child were almost swept away by a huge wave at Mullion Cove in
Cornwall as they peered over the sea wall to watch the raging sea, and
elsewhere in Cornwall vehicles driving on a coastal road were swamped
and almost washed away by a tidal surge.

RNLI crews were forced to rescue a man who had ventured to the end of a jetty in Aberystwyth on Saturday. First year university student Edward Laxton was taking pictures as the storm battered the harbour

Mr Laxton stands on the edge of the pier which only has waist-high railings as the waves tower above him

The RNLI teams brought Mr Laxton aboard the dinghy in a lifejacket and took him ashore to safety

Aberystwyth in Wales felt the full force of the storm, the most powerful for decades, as part of the promenade was torn up

While the storm ravaged the Welsh town overnight, Aberystwyth faced another barrage of waves, hitting the seafront

Experts have been out assessing the damage, which is expected to run into millions of pounds in Wales alone

The promenade in Aberystwyth was ripped apart as the storm ravaged the coast

A bench is submerged in shingle and sea debris, thrown ashore as 30ft waves battered the beach

The Welsh coast was hit as the highest tides in decades peaked at the same time as the storm unleashed its full force on Friday night

Railings have collapsed and the paving has been uprooted along the promenade in Aberystwyth, left. Right, farmland around Leatherhead in Surrey is under water after the River Mole burst its banks, buckling under the pressure of the storm

A pair of rowers take advantage of the flooded racecourse in Worcester, taking a run along the finishing straight

Worcester Racecourse is completely submerged after the ferocious storm hit and torrents of rain fell on already waterlogged ground

A tractor and trailer manages to get through the floodwater in Sutton, Cambridgeshire

A homeowner was rescued yesterday after 13 days stranded in her flooded property.

Anne-Marie Simpson had been cut off since a river near her
property burst its banks when an initial wave of storms swept Britain on
December 23.

She moved upstairs, stockpiled dry food and decided to 'wait it out' until the water level receded. The property has been under several feet of water since the River Tone burst its banks onto nearby floodplains before Christmas.Ms Simpson was rescued along with her pet Yorkshire terrier Elvis.

Police
pulled a man from the sea who had been drinking at Towan Beach,
Newquay, after he had ignored warnings about the fierce storms.

In Aberystwyth, Dyfed, a man was rescued by lifeboat after he became trapped when photographing waves from a harbour jetty.

Emergency
services rescued four people from a flooded farm in Llanbedr near
Barmouth, north west Wales, the River Severn burst its banks in
Gloucestershire for the second day running and a pregnant woman was
rescued after 30 properties were flooded in Cardigan, mid-Wales.

Part of the sea wall behind the Landmark Theatre in Ilfracombe collapsed because of the storms.

The
coastal surge in recent days has tested over 3,000km (1,864 miles) of
flood defences in England and over 205,000 properties have been
protected.

Debris strewn across Troon beach in Scotland after winds ripped a huge tree from the ground

People emerged from their homes on the Welsh coast on Saturday to survey the damage caused overnight

Tonnes of sand and gravel has been dumped on the roadway in Aberystwyth, along with huge chucks of the promenade pavement and railings

A telescope leans precariously after the strong seas knocked it over as the storm hit

The promenade in Aberystwyth was closed after debris was strewn across the road. But locals could not resist the chance to get a closer look at the angry seas

Leatherhead Football club, pictured, and vast swathes of the country were under water today after heavy rain battered southern and western parts

Waterlogged ground, like that at Leatherhead Football Club, has forced a number of sporting fixtures to called off. Two FA cup ties and horse racing meetings have fallen victim to the weather

Flooding on the river Severn in Worcestershire

The River Mole in Leatherhead, Surrey burst its banks over Christmas but after days of torrential downpours the water level has not yet receded

A sign on Preston Beach in Weymouth states the Environment Agency are carrying out emergency repairs

POLICE SEARCHING FOR MAN LAST SEEN WALKING TOWARDS COASTAL PATHTO TAKE PICTURES OF THE WEATHER

Harry Martin left his home in Membland, Newton Ferrers, near Plymouth, Devon, at around midday yesterday

The bad weather has not only batttered the coast and flooded homes, but it has led to deaths and disappearances.

Air, sea and land searches are under way for an 18-year-old who has not been seen since he left his home to take pictures of the weather.

Harry Martin left his home in Membland, Newton Ferrers, near Plymouth, Devon, at around midday on Thursday as the storm approached.

Devon and Cornwall Police said Mr Martin was last seen walking in the direction of the coastal path near his home.

Police, Coastguard, the RNLI from Plymouth and helicopters from the police and RNAS Culdrose are conducting extensive searches around the coast and inland areas.

A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said: 'The police, Devon Rescue Group, Coastguard, specialist search dogs and members of the public are continuing to search for Harry.

'Over 100 members of the public have volunteered to assist with searches in the local area of Newton Ferrers. We advise the public not to put themselves at risk.'

'His disappearance is described as out of character and police are extremely concerned for his welfare,' the police spokesman said.

'Anyone who has seen Harry or knows of his whereabouts is urged to contact police immediately.'

A Coastguard spokesman said: 'They were last seen heading out to take photos of the weather yesterday lunchtime.

'Although missing person inquiries are co-ordinated by the police, HM Coastguard assist by co-ordinating search and rescue along the coastline and out to sea.

'Because the village is situated on the River Yealm estuary, the Coastguard rescue teams from Yealm and Plymouth were sent to search the coastline whilst the RNLI lifeboats from Plymouth searched the sea.

'The Royal Navy helicopter from Culdrose is also on scene, searching the area around Newton Ferrers.'

Mr Martin is described as 5ft 11in, and slim with short dark hair, a light beard and blue eyes.

He is thought to be wearing pink skinny jeans and a grey hooded jumper.

Later, police described Mr Martin's family as 'distressed' and said they did not wish to speak publicly.

The storms have already claimed at least two lives.

The body of a 27-year-old man from Surrey was found on Porthleven Sands beach in Cornwall.

He had been swept out to sea on New Year's Eve night, having gone for a paddle with friends at nearby Loe Bar.

In a second tragedy on Tuesday, a woman died after being swept out to sea at the popular beauty spot Croyde Bay in north Devon.

The woman, who was believed to be on holiday with her family, was rescued from the sea and airlifted to hospital before being confirmed dead by doctors.

Elsewhere, police in Dorset investigating a report of a man falling into the swollen River Stour in Christchurch have ended their inquiries after no-one was reported missing in the area.